Alliance Forged (20 page)

“My senior Servants have coordinated most of that.” She gave credit where credit was due.

“Today I had to drag Kalan here. He’s under the impression you mightn’t be on speaking terms with him.”

Kymora pursed her lips. So that explained her brother’s aura.

“So, am I forgiven, Kym?” Kalan’s somber question held a hint of uncertainty.

Her knee-jerk reaction to his edict hadn’t been her finest moment. “While I’m still not happy, there’s nothing to forgive.” She reached out a hand, glad when he took it and pulled her close.

“I considered a thousand other ideas, Kym,” he murmured, and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If there’d been a better one, I would have suggested it instead.”

“I know.” She rested her cheek against the coarse knap of his shirt and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I’m sorry I gave you such a difficult time.”

“If it’s any consolation, a pair of Light Blades follow me around
everywhere as well,” Annika informed her. “And for good measure, every Councilor has that privilege, too.”

“Really?” Kymora ducked her head to hide a smile.

“If the rebels would try to kill our
Temple Elect
, then it stood to reason they might try to disrupt the Blade Council,” Kalan commented.

Dark satisfaction bloomed inside her.
Lady
forgive her that emotion, but it made her feel a whole lot better. “I bet they were so thankful for your concern for their welfare.”

“Conceit doesn’t suit you,
Temple Elect
.”

His dry response drew a delicate snort from Annika. Kymora decided to let the subject drop and gestured toward the congregational pews. “Let’s take a seat. You said you were here for another reason?”

The front pew creaked as they sat on it. Smooth with age and use, the cool wood held the faint scent of beeswax, the care and maintenance provided by one of her oldest Servants. He performed the chore daily, without fail. Next time she saw Nemtar, she needed to thank him for his efforts.

“The outrider who arrived this morning brought word that eighty-seven potentials were found on their search.” Kalan’s voice held quiet hope.

“That is good news. The result bodes well for the searches in the other Provinces.” Kymora smoothed the skirt of her robe over her legs. “Are those discovered all potential warriors?”

“Yes, they’re the only sort I asked to be sent back to the city. Anyone else found with a
Lady’s
Gift, their names were to be recorded, along with their location, for future reference.” Kalan paused, his aura dulled by a roiling heaviness. “But amongst those arriving, there will be some as young as fifteen.”

Kymora reached for and clasped her brother’s hand. “So, you
believe
Na’Rei
Savyr is preparing for war, then?” It would be the only reason Kalan called for searches to include potential Light Blade warriors so young.

“We can’t risk being caught unprepared, Kym.” His hand squeezed hers. “The
Na’Reish
outnumber us, even with the
Na’Chi
. If we don’t start training new warriors, and young ones at that, we may not last in an extended conflict.”

How many sleepless nights had he experienced, particularly since making that decision? Probably quite a few.

She mustered a small smile. “I’ll pray to the
Lady
for strength and mercy. Perhaps
She’ll
find it within
Her
wisdom to intervene and avert the darkness of war.”

After a short silence, Annika spoke up. “There’s a celebration at the lakeside this afternoon….”

Kymora’s smile widened. “Yes, the Summer’s End Festival.”

“Kalan and I asked the
Na’Chi
if they’d like to go. Lisella, some others, and the children are coming….”

“I hear a
but
in there.”

The younger woman chuckled softly. “I’d forgotten how well you read people’s voices.” Her chuckle petered off into a sigh. “Not everyone wanted to go….”

Again her voice trailed off. Her aura reflected the heavy concern threading Kalan’s.

“Let me guess: Varian’s one of them?”

“Many of the scouts have declined to attend.” Kalan’s somber tone held genuine concern. “Arek tells me while training has gone well, the last few days have been hard. There’s still tension. He had to break up a fight between Zaune and one of the warriors in his patrol yesterday. Apparently there was some reference made to the scout being a freak of nature.”

Kymora gasped. “Oh,
Mother of Light
!”

“Attending the festival is the last thing many of them feel like
doing at the moment,” Kalan continued. “Not that I blame them, but the whole idea of mixing socially, in a setting away from training, might help relations.”

Annika cleared her throat. “Perhaps if you approached Varian, he might change his mind and maybe it would encourage others, too.”

“Turning the other cheek is easier said than done.” Experience had taught Kymora that. “And Varian can be incredibly stubborn.”

“Sounds like another person I know,” Kalan teased. She scowled in his direction. Then his tone became more serious. “Would you try, Kym?”

Knowing how important this was, for all of them, she nodded. “All right, I will, but we’re going to need some
Na’Chi
friendly supporters with us, brother. The last thing we need is for another altercation to break out while everyone’s down there.”

“I’m already ahead of you there.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Candra and most of the healers’ Guild will be attending. Arek is rounding up the warriors and crafters who’ve lived with the
Na’Chi
in the last few months.”

“You know, if Lisella is taking the children, perhaps some playmates would be in order.”

“Rissa has a host of friends at the city orphanage,” Annika commented. “She and I might pay them a visit this afternoon.”

Kymora nodded, then grinned. “And visiting Varian and the scouts is a great excuse to cancel my appointment with Councilor Elamm. It won’t hurt to reschedule for another day.”

“Then we’ll see you this afternoon on the lakeshore,” Annika said, excited. “Hopefully with Varian and some of the scouts.”

“
Lady
willing.” Annika’s confidence in her was a little daunting. She could only ask and see what happened, but first she needed to visit her room.

Her priestess robes were going to remain behind, hanging on the hook on her wall, while Kymora Tayn visited Varian in the
Na’Chi
apartments. It’d been a long time since she’d worn anything other than her robes, but this time she didn’t want there to be any mistake about who was approaching him.

“VARIAN, Kymora Tayn is outside requesting to see you.”

Varian paused in cleaning the blade of his dagger.
Kymora Tayn?
Brows lifting, he glanced up at Zaune, who stood just inside the archway to the common room where several
Na’Chi
, including himself, were tending to repairs of various personal items.

“That’s what she said.” The young scout wore a bemused expression. “I greeted her as
Temple Elect
. She’s not here in her official role and insisted I call her Kymora.”

Curious.

With care, Varian placed the newly sharpened dagger on the table in front of him and wiped his hands with the rag. “Show her in.”

With a nod, Zaune disappeared back through the archway. Glancing toward the only window in the room, the angle of the sunlight pouring in on the woven floor rug indicated it was late afternoon.

Varian grunted. With the morning spent training with the Light Blades, the rest of the day had been theirs to do whatever they wanted. The humans, from Guild-members to Light Blades to those in the city, all celebrated something called the Summer’s End Festival. From midday the Light Blade compound had been pretty much deserted. It was a reprieve of sorts from the heavy schedule of training and constant presence of others.

In the relative silence of the apartments, Kymora’s lighter-pitched voice echoed along the corridor outside the common room as she chatted with Zaune. Varian’s pulse raced a little faster, and one corner of his mouth curved upward. Almost a week had passed since he’d last seen her.

The familiar hollow
tap-tap-tap
of her staff as she made her way
from place to place, her cheerful tone as she greeted those around her, her soft laughter. She’d woven her way into the daily life of the
Na’Chi
during her time with them. Funny how a person could become used to certain things.

He rose as she and Zaune appeared in the archway. At first glance, she wore a forest green dress, nothing as elaborate as those worn by the Councilors or Guild-wives. The simpler style complimented her slender form. Unable to look away, and so used to seeing her in the neutral-colored robes of her calling, the difference was mesmerizing. The color of this dress reminded him of rug-moss, the sort that grew around the base of a tree. It drew out the deep green of her eyes. The material flowed around her body, from her shoulders to her hips, while the skirt brushed the toes of her boots.

Her long black hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, the end of it brushing the curved swell of her buttocks, and around her neck, the familiar sun amulet glinted in the afternoon light.

She looked elegant, beautiful.

As Zaune escorted her to the table, her scent reached him. His nostrils flared. Fresh honey and nectar. The smell of her hit him hard and streaked southward, igniting every nerve in his body on the way.

She tasted just as sweet, too. He almost groaned at that thought. The memory of her kissing him surfaced quickly, only adding to the raw pleasure rushing through him. His gaze dropped to her lips, shocked at the intensity of his arousal.

He sucked in a slow breath, trying to control it. Zaune’s gaze linked with his, a sparkle of surprised amusement in the violet depths, an effective reminder that those who could read scents as easily as him surrounded him.

“Blessed Eve to you all.” Kymora’s greeting carried to everyone in the room, and it gave him time to gather his scattered senses. She looked left, her warm smile directed at the small group sitting on
cushions on the floor in front of the unlit fireplace. “Fannis, Taybor, Yari… and Jinnae…”

The four scouts exchanged startled looks with one another before each murmured a reply.

Zaune grunted. “Amazing how you do that. That’s a handy skill you have,
Temple
… um, Kymora.”

Her smile widened. “It’s certainly proved useful living with all of you, especially as you’re so quiet. Even with my hearing, you all speak so softly it’s hard to work out who’s talking.”

The young scout pulled out a chair and helped her to sit, then excused himself. He retreated to the other side of the room where he’d been tending his own weapons when he’d heard the bell announcing a visitor to the apartments.

Kymora laid her staff aside, resting it against the chair beside her. “Cleaning weapons?” she asked.

Varian glanced to the table. While he’d sealed the small jug to her right, the tang of blade oil lingered.

“Just some routine maintenance.” He moved the various blades and equipment there to the far side. She didn’t need a stain or tear in her dress.

“You should be outside enjoying the weather while it holds.” Kymora tucked a fold of her skirt under her thigh. “You do know about the Summer’s End Festival down on the lakeshore?”

“It’s been mentioned once or twice today.” Varian sat down and leaned back in his chair. While her pleasant expression remained, the faint odor of bitter herbs settled in his nostrils, and she smoothed her fingers over the edge of the table. “What are you so nervous about, Kymora?”

Her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. “I came to ask if you, or any of the others, would like to accompany me to the festival.” Her smile took on a wry twist. “I’d like to say I came up with the idea on my
own, but I’d be lying. Kalan and Annika came to see me…. They mentioned Lisella and some others were going….”

“And that we weren’t.” A coldness curled, then settled in his gut. So, once again others had enlisted her to help him. First Kalan and Annika, then Lisella several times during the day. She’d even sent some of the children in to ask him. Did they think that if enough people asked him, he’d change his mind?

Rubbing shoulders with several hundred people, knowing many of them would be staring and whispering about them, was an experience he could do without. Been there, done that last time they’d lived in the city.

Whether the
Na’Chi
had gone together or in small groups to visit the Guild-halls or to explore the streets and People’s Market, he’d felt like an oddity with the humans constantly peering at him, some with outright fear, others with blatant hostility, most with varying degrees of trepidation. Not a lot had changed since their return.

He wasn’t going to go through something like that again at the lakeshore. “Kalan explained that the event attracts many. People even travel in from the farmlands nearby.”

She sat a little straighter in the chair, anticipation tugging at the corners of her lips. “It’s one of our much-anticipated festivals. Many don’t get to meet and mix like this until after harvest. There’s always too much to do in the next few months.”

“Lisella, all the children, and several others left half an hour ago. Annika mentioned setting up a spot somewhere near the grove of needle-trees. They should be there by now.”

“The clearing in the grove is a great place for a group. Close enough to participate in the festivities but far enough away to be out of the main area.” Her hands stilled on the edge of the table. “Rissa’s probably organized them all by now into teams for a game of flutter-tag. I bet she’s even convinced some of the adults to join in.” She
issued a husky laugh. “There’s a lot of fun to be had trying to steal a length of ribbon from someone’s belt.”

Rissa. Thanks to the young human, the
Na’Chi
children had learned quite a few games since they’d arrived at Sacred Lake. They’d drop whatever they were doing when she arrived to greet her with hugs and smiles, something she returned with genuine compassion. The children had had so little to celebrate living in
Na’Reish
territory. At least some of them would grow up knowing what it was like to live as a child instead of a hunted animal.